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FSLT To Stage 'It's A Wonderful Life'

FSLT To Stage &#8216;It&rsquo;s A Wonderful Life&rsquo;

Jamie Mitchell Times Record -Fort Smith Little Theater actors, Eric Wells, from left, Amanda Hiatt, Zach Callahan, Nathan Stockemer, Dalton Jones and Victoria Jones rehearse, Tuesday, December 10, 2013, for the FSLT production of "It's a Wonderful Life - A Live Radio Play." Performances are scheduled for 8 pm. Thursday, December 12, 2013, through Saturday, December 14, 2013 with tickets costing $5 at the door for the off-season production.

At times, everyone can feel the down-and-out blues like George Bailey.

When stress looks like it’s about to take over, one can relate to the often-frustrated lead character of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” said Shannon Stoddard. A down-and-out sense can loom over a person when life’s obstacles seem to stand tall, but there is always hope, she said.

“George Bailey is a person who, in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ feels the world would be a better place without him, because he’s gotten himself into a big hole,” said Stoddard, who is directing the Fort Smith Little Theatre’s off-season production of “It’s a Wonderful Life — A Live Radio Play.” “I think everyone feels that way once in a while, and they need a little reminder that they are an important part of other people’s lives.”

One such reminder will be the FSLT’s production, which is estimated to run between 45 minutes and one hour, she said. The play will be staged at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at the FSLT, 401 N. Sixth St., and will present comedy and music in a refreshing way, Stoddard said.

“What’s really cool about our production is, this is the radio version of the story, but it follows the movie completely,” she said. “We have six microphones set up on the stage for this, and it’s set in the 1940s, so it looks, sounds and feels like an old radio show.”

Not surprisingly, FSLT cast members have embraced multi-tasking throughout the recent rehearsal schedule, Stoddard said.

“When we first started this, it kind of felt like a multi-personality disorder-type thing,” she said with a laugh. “But the actors quickly got the hang of it.

“Each actor is handling different roles — there are about 30 characters in this story,” Stoddard added. “The actors are talking between themselves, between characters, and it’s so fun to watch and hear.”

Also impressive will be the production’s music, singing and other non-dialogue sounds, she said.

“We’re doing all live sound effects, and that’s exciting,” Stoddard said. “A wind machine was created for this, and there are live doorbell sounds, door slams and phones ringing. It’s really cool to have that live-sound presentation for this production. It’s just a great setting that I think a lot of people will love.”